Silverstone track breakdown: The British GP makes F1 drivers feel like jet pilots

New York Times

7 hours ago

The British Grand Prix offers one of the most iconic tracks on Formula One's calendar, rich in history and a thrilling high-speed drive.
Nestled in the heart of the UK's motorsport valley where seven of the 10 teams are based, as well as the coming Cadillac squad, Silverstone Circuit hosts the home race for four drivers: Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Lando Norris and Ollie Bearman (Alex Albon is British-born but races under the Thai flag). It's had epic showdowns over the years, such as Michael Schumacher vs. Ayrton Senna in 1993, Rubens Barrichello vs. Schumacher in 2003, Sebastian Vettel vs. Valtteri Bottas in 2018, and Sergio Pérez vs. Charles Leclerc vs. Hamilton in 2022.
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'That was very reminiscent of the karting days,' Hamilton said of the battle after the 2022 grand prix that was eventually won by Carlos Sainz. 'And I feel that that's Formula One at its best. The fact that we were able to follow and dice like that, lap on lap, is a testament to the direction I think that we're now in.'
This circuit, built on a former Royal Air Force base, is known for its high-speed nature. So much so that Hamilton once said, 'The faster this track gets, the better it gets. It has to be the best track in the world, it feels like driving a fighter jet around the track.' Wind is a fairly significant factor, given how open the circuit is. Albon noted, 'It changes the (car) balance so much, so to be on the limit throughout the whole corner, it's very easy to underdrive a part of the corner which has a bit of a headwind, and you can use a little bit of that wind to push a little bit more into a corner.'
The track, which crosses the county line between Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, has had several layout changes over the years, but the character has remained. New names for new corners and straights have been added to pay homage to Silverstone's heritage and culture.
Here's what to expect from Silverstone Circuit as the British Grand Prix kicks off in 2025.
Before it became a racing circuit, Silverstone operated as an RAF base during World War II. The airfield opened in 1943 and served as the base for Wellington bombers.
When the war ended in 1945, the United Kingdom was left with a surplus of airfields, and RAF Silverstone was converted into a race track. The Royal Automobile Club hosted the first British Grand Prix in Oct. 1948, with around 100,000 spectators in attendance. When the F1 World Championship began in 1950, Silverstone kicked off the calendar.
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Another notable fact about the first world championship race: It's the only time a reigning monarch attended a British motorsport race. King George VI attended with then-Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret, as well as Lord and Lady Mountbatten. And the royalty extended onto the track too, with a Thai prince and a Swiss baron competing in the race.
One of the Silverstone's unique aspects is that nearly everything on this track has a name, but do the drivers remember them? Ex-F1 driver Kevin Magnussen said in 2023, 'I always forget the names. There's a couple of them I know, but I always forget.'
Here's your crash course on what numbers correspond with which name and how we got here.
This right-hander is named after Luffield Abbey, founded before 1133 and with remains discovered near the corner. Drivers approach this turn flat out in a modern-day F1 car, which can become dangerous, as seen by Zhou Guanyu's 2022 wreck at the start of that year's race.
Still in full throttle, drivers hit a slight kink to the left, more of a lazy bend. The origins of Farm aren't complex: The cars used to zip past a nearby farm back when it was a straight between Abbey and what was Bridge Bend.
This corner entered the layout in 2010, named after Silverstone Village just north of the track. Drivers have to brake hard for the 45-degree right-hander, and they'll need to keep to the right for the left-hander ahead.
Welcome to a hairpin, one of the slowest points on Silverstone Circuit. It is the only point on the track named for its shape.
Drivers go flat out through this left-hander onto the next straight. Aintree has racing origins, both for motorsports and horses. Not only is it the home of the Grand National steeplechase, but Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool also hosted the British Grand Prix for five years.
Kimi Räikkönen crashed his Ferrari spectacularly coming out of Aintree during the 2014 British Grand Prix , which was a tad amusing given the nickname for the Italian team is the Prancing Horse.
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Formed from one of the old RAF runways, this straight is named after the Wellington bombers. It was initially called the National Straight until the track layout was changed, and it was renamed in 2010 as part of this.
Out near Weybridge in Surrey rests the old guard of British motorsport. Brooklands opened in 1907 and also served as one of the country's first airfields and an aircraft manufacturing facility. Its last race was held in 1939, but the track's legacy lives on in the form of Brooklands Museum (which sits on part of the track) and as part of the British GP — at least in name. This is a mid-speed left-hander.
Another long right-hander with a similar history to Turn 1. This one is named after Luffield Chapel and entered the circuit layout in 1987. Initially, it was two separate turns — giving off Dr. Seuss vibes with the names of Luffield 1 and Luffield 2.
This corner serves as an ode to the RAC, specifically the Surrey-based club of Woodcote Park because the RAC used to organize the track's races in its early days. Though it is now a flat-out right turn, this original corner previously ended the layout.
A significant pileup happened here during the 1973 grand prix, when an opening lap accident triggered by Jody Scheckter led to nine cars being knocked out of the race and injuring a driver.
Named in honor of the surrounding woodland, this corner isn't known for a peaceful nature similar to the English countryside. Back in 2021, title contenders Hamilton and Max Verstappen collided here, a moment that sent the Red Bull into the barriers at the exit of the high-speed right-hander and landed the Mercedes driver a time penalty. It became a defining, controversial moment in their championship battle.
Iconic is a fitting word for this high-speed, twisty sequence. It begins with a full-throttle left-to-right zig, and the track gets tighter as speed only slightly decreases. The cars navigate another left-to-right sequence before launching onto the Hanger straight. These used to be three distinct moments, but now, they're far too interlinked.
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As for the history of the names, Maggots is in honor of the marshy wetland Maggot Moor. Meanwhile, Becketts and Chapel come from the medieval church honoring Saint Thomas à Becket, the murdered Archbishop of Canterbury. The buildings, though, were torn down when the airfield was built. Hanger straight gets its name from the aircraft hangers of RAF Silverstone.
With his DRS wing open down the Hangar Straight in 2022, Pérez got right on the rear of Leclerc's Ferrari and moved side-by-side as they rounded this hard right-hander.
It's a tricky corner, coming at the end of a DRS zone. Like a good portion of the track, Stowe's namesake is said to have come from a nearby landmark — a school.
How have we only just seen the helicam footage from this epic passage of racing at Silverstone last year 🤯 pic.twitter.com/uP43lfLabF
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) July 7, 2023
In 2022, Pérez and Leclerc were wheel-to-wheel with Hamilton hot on their tails as the cars barreled through this left-hander. Its namesake isn't as apparent, but some point towards this section of the track is in the Aylesbury Vale district.
Like Woodcote, this final stretch tips a hat to the RAC and its clubhouse in London. But more modern-day fans may recall the appearance of this portion thanks to Sky Sports' David Croft saying in 2022, 'Through goes Hamilton!' as the battle with Pèrez and Leclerc continued and the then Mercedes driver slipped past the Red Bull and Ferrari in the track's final corner.
Silverstone's high-speed nature means Pirelli usually brings its hardest tires here to try and avoid the blowouts that blighted races in 2013 and 2020. But, in 2025, the Italian tire manufacturer is bringing its C2, C3 and C4 tires in a bid to increase the number of pitstops drivers complete in the race. As ever in Britain, the fickle Silverstone weather can increase these naturally.
(Track video courtesy of EA Sports F1 — learn more about 'F1 25″ here.)
Top photos: Alessio Morgese/NurPhoto visa Getty Images; Design: Drew Jordan